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Unless you plan to be a bum for the rest of your life, you cannot avoid going to work. And as an employee, you are expected to act accordingly to the rules and regulations of your company which includes not punching a co-worker in the face. We all get stressed and frustrated at work and as difficult as it is already, some people somehow makes it even harder simply by being themselves.

Here are the 5 worst types of colleague you’ll definitely meet (or may have already) at work:

The Know-It-All

Ugh, nobody likes a know-it-all, right? But for some reason, they keep on breeding and there are lots of them in the workplace. They dote on you and criticizing every little thing you do, correcting every single wrongs and the worst part is, they’re not even your boss. How to deal with them? Be a know-it-all yourself but only use it to defend yourself. Prove to them that you know what you’re doing and no one else should tell you how to do your job unless they’re the ones paying your bills.

The Get Me Out Of Here

This type is easy to spot. They’re the ones who are slumped on their chairs all day, complaining about everything. They complain about having to wake up so early. They complain about the traffic. They complain about the rude bus driver they just had a fight with. They complain about the weather, the train, the sky, the desk and the way the hours go oh so slow. They have always told you that they’re going to resign and find a better job somewhere but they’ve been saying that for years now and they’re still in the company, complaining. Stay away from this type if you don’t want to become like them.

The Mega Phone

Happy-go-lucky, cheerful, giddy but loud, very loud-these are the traits of the Mega Phones. This type of colleague is harmless at first if you’re new at the office but once they get to know you, they’ll talk to you as if you’re at the other side of the office. Always excited about everything, they like telling stories you care nothing about and you’d seriously want to put something inside their mouths to get them to stop talking but of course, you can’t do that so just pop on your earphones and listen to heavy metal instead.

The Politician

Ah, nothing says corporate drama than office politics. This is where the office politicians thrive. This is their battlefield. They work their way into the ranks and befriends everyone, especially the big bosses. They often make themselves popular by doing people favors but don’t get fooled, once they get to the position that they want, they’ll do an entire 360 and become the monster they always were.

The Dunce

Idiots are fun that’s why every village wants one but definitely not in the workplace. Dunces are little children on “Bring Your Child To Work Day”. They literally don’t know or care about what they’re doing as long as they’re getting paid for it. They are most of the time subordinates who keep bugging you with questions rather than taking the initiative to figure things out on their own. It’ll make you wonder if they’re really just lazy or a legit bunch of idiots who miraculously know how to make a resume and pass a job interview.

The 90s can be best described as a bridge for it connects two generations. It’s the old and the coming of the new millennium blending within a decade. That’s why the music scene of the 90s is a merry mix of the fading 80s dance raves and pop songs and the emerging new subgenres of rock and roll such as alternative rock and grunge rock. Soon enough, a lot of these bands dominated the airwaves and people were listening to guitar riffs and bass lines again just like the good ‘ol days of rock in the 70s but with an angst-y twist. If you’re unaware of the amazing music scene of the 90s and want to enrich your playlist with actual music instead of pop sensations and digitally altered music that we have today, here are the best 90s bands that you should definitely listen to:

Blink-182

You can ask any pop punk band that was formed in the early 2000s about their major influence and the answer will definitely include Blink-182. Founded by Mark Hoppus on vocals/bass, Tom DeLonge on vocals/guitars and drummer Scott Raynor (replaced by Travis Barker in 1998), the band is best known for reinventing and developing pop punk music. Since their debut in 1995, Blink-182 continued to top the charts with their hit songs such as “Dammit”, “What’s My Age Again”, “Adam’s song”, “All The Small Things” and many more. To date, the band has sold over 3.5 million albums worldwide. As of now, the band is going through some sort of a break up with DeLonge on an indefinite hiatus. Still, their big influence on today’s bands and to their fans remains undeniable.

Pearl Jam

Nothing says 90s music than the band Pearl Jam. Their diverse music and interesting subjects that they use in their songs made them extremely popular, especially amongst teenagers. Formed in Seattle, Washington in the year 1990, Eddie Vader (vocals), Stone Gossard (guitar), Jeff Amment (bass), Mike Cready (guitar) and Matt Cameron (current drummer) sold over 3.1 million albums worldwide. If you want to hear how good this band is, check out their song “Jeremy” and “Just Breathe”.

Green Day

This list would not be called best bands of the 90s without Green Day in it. Composed of Billie Joe Armstrong on vocals and guitar, Tre’ Cool on Drums and Mike Dirnt on bass, the band was formed in 1986 but achieved their commercial breakthrough in 1994 with their album, Kerplunk. Armed with their vicious take on punk rock, Green Day sold over 75 million albums worldwide and won numerous awards, including a Tony with the Broadway adaptation of their most successful studio album, American Idiot. I suggest you put the whole American Idiot album on your playlist because every single song in there are worth the listen.

Rage Against The Machine

Rage Against The Machine was not dubbed as The World’s Most Dangerous Band for nothing. Their hip/hop fused with heavy metal sound conquered the airwaves in 1992 with their self titled album that topped the charts despite their radical music. In fact, it is their radicalism that raised them to fame. Composed of Zack de La Rocha on vocals, Tom Morello on guitars, Brad Wilk on drums and Tim Commerford on bass, RATM used their songs to inspire social change amongst their audience and provide support to the minorities, especially those who are often victimized by racism in the United States and the rest of the world. Though they disbanded in 2000, their songs of freedom and equality still rings true, especially now more than ever. If you want to hear how badass this band is, listen to ‘Killing In the Name”, “Bulls on Parade” and my personal favorite “Freedom”.

Nirvana

Nirvana is considered to be the voice of the 90s. Why wouldn’t they be when they started the whole grunge era of rock and roll? The Nirvana trio composed of Kurt Cobain on vocals and guitar, Kris Novoselic on bass and Dave Grohl on drums, became the flagship of Generation X because of their songs about individuality. They also invented the “quiet verses and heavy chorus” song formula which is widely used today by a lot of bands. Even after the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994 and their breakup, Nirvana continued to be one of the best selling bands of all time garnering over 75 million albums ales worldwide. In case you don’t have their songs yet on your playlist, you should definitely check out their classic songs “Smells Like Teen Spirit, “Come as You Are” and “No Apologies”.

It’s been 43 years since former President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law. We’ve learned some stuff about it during our history class at school but my further readings told me that there are many things we didn’t know about it and weren’t taught to us in class. Here are some of the most shocking facts about the Philippine Martial Law:

Former President Ferdinand Marcos was not the only president to declare martial law. In fact, it was Emilio Aguinaldo who first declared Martial Law making him not only the first president of the republic but also the country’s first dictator.

Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo also declared a Martial Law in Mindanao to investigate the Amputan Clan’s alleged private armies and weaponry.

Curfew was strictly imposed during the martial law and anyone who is caught walking the streets between 11pm-4am gets arrested and detained by the Metrocom or metropolitan.

Little kids didn’t get to enjoy watching anime (Japanese animation) like Voltes V, Daimos or Mazinger Z. The government’s reason for banning these shows is that they’re too violent for little children to watch. Other says that it’s because the animes’ stories are about fighting an oppressive villain that’s why the Marcos regime didn’t want kids to watch it.

Theater became a potent vehicle for political expression. PETA (Philippine Educational Theater Association) used their shows to express their sympathies against the government. They also taught local communities about theater.

Senator Jose Diokno was known to be one of Marcos’ formidable foes alongside Senator Ninoy Aquino. After the successful overthrow of the Marcos regime, he was appointed as the Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Human Rights. However, during Cory’s regime and the infamous Mendiola massacre where the military opened fire and killed 15 farmers, he resigned from his position, disappointed that even after the dictator is gone, not much has changed.

During Martial Law, Meralco was under the control of the government that’s why the electric bill during that time was incredibly lower than what’s written on our bills today. After the Cory regime got rid of the Marcoses, she gave back the company to the Lopez’ and completely out of the government’s hands.

Public schools were normally supplied with NutriBun. a high-vitamin bun which was supposedly a complete, all-in-one meal. It only costs five centavos.

Although his wife Imelda was credited for building some of the country’s finest monuments, she was criticized for personal extravagance. She was called the iron butterfly of Asia because of her ability to make connections with other powerful people fast. She’s also as strong willed as her late husband.

Imelda Marcos came up with the Green Revolution program which required students to bring and plant seeds and take care of the environment. Aside from this, they are also required to attend news programs.

After the 1986 people power, not much has changed and the Philippines still remained one of the poorest countries in Asia as opposed to our former title, The Tiger of Asia during Marcos’ regime.

We all have different views about the Martial but one thing is for sure, it did change the entire nation and affected the generation that came after it.

There were a lot of films released in the past year but only some of them made a great impact to the viewing public but some of them really stood out and took the box office by storm. Here are some of the most iconic films of 2014:

Boyhood

Richard Linklater’s twelve years-in-the-making masterpiece impressed a lot of audiences worldwide. The movie was so moving that US President Barack Obama even declared this his favorite movie of 2014. What made this movie special is not just its incredible length but also the lengths the staff and crew went through to get this movie done. For twelve whole years, Boyhood follows the story of a young boy and his journey to becoming a man; facing real situations along the way.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Entering the doors of the Grand Budapest Hotel is like walking straight into a painting. Full of wonderful characters and an amazing color palette as expected of any Wes Anderson movie, The Grand Budapest will not only make your eyes wide with amazement but will also fill your heart with emotions.

The Lego Movie

Why did this animated made the cut of the best movies of 2014? The answer is simple: because it’s awesome. The Lego Movie is not your average animated film although it might look like that at first. It’s one of those films that you didn’t expect to make a big impact in you but it did. This movie is not just for kids and Lego enthusiast but for all ages because it talks about self worth and how your own uniqueness can be your super power. I owe a lot to this movie because it inspired me to be more proud of myself.

Norte: Hangganan ng Kasaysayan (Norte: The End of History)

It’s not a surprise anymore that a few Filipino indie film receieve awards from many different award giving bodies. So what makes this Lav Diaz masterpiece different from the others? Norte: Hangganan ng Kasaysayan is what the critics call the best interpretation of Dosteovsky’s Crime and Punishment. Set in the Northern part of the Philippines, the movie depicts a story of an innocent man convicted of a crime he did not commit. This movie is four hours long but it you won’t even notice it because aside from the gripping story, it also visually tasty, full of amazingly shot scenes that shows a tragic story on a beautiful background. If you’re looking for your next favorite film, you should definitely see Norte: Hangganan ng Kasayasayan.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Known as one of the biggest superhero movies of all time because of its massive popularity, Guardians of the Galaxy proved that in every film, the story is still king. Equipped with a amazing special effects and unconventional characters, this movie exceeded my expectations of a normal superhero flick because it did more than just to excite me with fight scenes, it also warmed my heart and made me laugh harder than any other comedy movies I’ve ever watched. I love how the characters are all very different from each other and aren’t stereotypical.

When I was a kid, I used to wake up at 8am and sit right in front of our TV every weekday to watch my favorite shows on local channels. We didn’t have cable back then but even when we got it, I still go back to my favorite children’s shows from time to time until they all just slowly vanished. These shows are so close to my heart and they taught me a lot of lessons not just academically but also in life.

Here are some Pinoy Children Shows that should be on TV Again:

Hiraya Manawari

Hiraya Manawari is one of the longest running children’s shows back in my day. The term Hiraya is a deeper form of “sana” (hopefully) and Manawari means “mangyari” or “Matupad”. In English, it literally means “I Hope it comes true”. From what I remember it’s a show that teaches children about discipline, love and friendship. Most episodes of Hiraya Manawari involves travelling to Magical Lands and meeting magical creatures that will teach the protagonist of that particular story a lesson that that they will carry when they go back to their real world. What I miss about this show is the storyline of every episode because they do not take their audience for granted. I love how the stories even have slightly complicated plots that even adults can still learn from it. They should really bring this back instead of re-running old violent cartoons.

Bayani

This is the show that made me a history nerd and I regret nothing. I love this show so much I even risk getting late for school just to finish an episode. Bayani is a history based children’s show that brings audiences to the lives of our heroes and the builders of our nation. It’s like a first class ticket to the lives of Andres Bonifacio, Jose Rizal, Antonio Luna, Diego Silang and many more. The main thing I love about this show aside from the amazing set is that the portrayal of characters. The actors are all amazing! A lot of kids find history (especially ours) boring nowadays and perhaps if they bring this show back, it will spark their interest just as it did mine when I was a student.

Batibot

Batibot is like our very own version of Sesame Street with puppets and singing and learning about lots of stuff. I don’t remember much about the episodes of this show but I do remember Kapitan Basa who probably inspired my love for reading. Oh and also Kuya Bodjie (Luisito Pascua) the story teller. Batibot truly made me happy when I was a kid and I’m sure if they bring this back, little kids will love it too; just as long as they put away their phones for a bit.

Mathinik

I hated math when I was a kid (till now) and when Mathinik, a show about Mathematics came to television, It saved me from the horror of boring numbers. This show made Math fun for all of us, especially since they make solving problems a lot easier by making it very visual. I must say it improved my Math grades a little but I still find the subject boring. Nevertheless, it proved that teaching a boring subject in a fun way definitely helps.

Epol Apol

Epol Apol is an English related children’s show that aims to teach little children proper English grammar and English words. I loved this show so much because it challenged me to learn English at such a young age. Kuya Bodjie also hosts this show and he travels with two children through distant lands to learn English phrases, usage, pronunciations, etc. This is one of the most educational since it forces the audience to learn because otherwise, they wouldn’t understand the episode.

Sineskwela

Sineskwela is the reason why I am in love with Science. To this day, even if I’m not in school anymore, I am still very much interested in it and this show is to blame. I was a very curious kid (still am) and this show satisfied me a lot, especially that episode where they travelled inside someone’s intestines. I also remember that episode about the weather and they visually depicted how a cloud forms from water vapor and oh, that episode about Volcanoes! Sineskwela was my all-time favorite show when I was a kid and I wouldn’t mind watching it again as a young adult. I want to see Kuya Bok, Ugat Puno, Ate Giselle, Ate Winnie, Palikpik, Kulitsap, Anatom and Agatom again, do some Science and chant “Siyensya, Siyensya! Mag-imbestiga, tuklasin ang hiwaga ng Siyensya!”

Manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. You can deny this as long as you want but we are all victims of manipulation every day since we got exposed to media. What media am I talking about? Everything from television programs, magazine, radio shows, the internet and all other methods of spreading information. It’s kind of like being hypnotized to do certain things or believe in something and we don’t even know we’re doing it. If you still think only you command your own mind, here are the 5 Ways Media Has Manipulated You:

1. Convincing you to Consume More Than You Should

We all know the awesome power of the advertisements. And even though we hate seeing these 30 second clips while we are watching our favorite show, there’s nothing we can do but wait for them to be over so we won’t miss a thing from what we’re really trying to watch. In turn, we are forced to see these commercials that do nothing but sell us something we don’t need by making it seem like we do. They use flowery words, attractive people, sets and famous actors to convince you that your life will be complete if you just buy their products or give you the illusion that you CAN also have it all, just like your favorite celebrity can. And seeing all of those every day will definitely have an impact on your perception of things.

2. Reporting Half Truths

When it comes to news reports, people are always so trusting especially if it comes from a reputable television network. What most people don’t know is that everything we see or hear on the news are all super filtered that almost only ½ of the actual story remains, sometimes it’s zero when the network is trying to protect a personality or a political figure. Most of the time, these networks often create expose programs to make it seem like they’re trying to uncover an actual truth. But in the end, they only manage to pose in more questions than answers.

3. Making Sure You Remain Stupid

The people who controls the media, controls the nation. That’s why they keep making mediocre shows for the masses’ mediocre minds and make it appear as if it’s the best thing on prime time TV even though the concept has been used over and over again in the past 10 years. Most of us don’t seem to mind the mindless television shows as long as they see others clapping for it, winning prizes and getting to hug celebrities that don’t really care about your poverty. They took out all the educational shows for kids and replaced it with Korean series’. That way, kids would be more educated about the history of other countries rather than their own because once they start caring about their country, they will start questioning the government. That’s why they want to keep you ignorant for as long as they want to rule.

4. Changing Stories and Rewriting History

If you only get your information from the television, internet and newspapers, you are screwed. Why? Because there are loads of wrong information injected into your system every single day! Television shows have been tampering with actual historical events in favor of political figures and propagandas they support for years. They have lulled you into thinking that those who oppose the government are disturbing the peace. Let me tell you now that there is no peace. The peace you’re experiencing right now is brought to you by your compliance to the system. It’s all staged and they’re hiding the chaos so you’d submit willingly without resistance and accept whatever lie they feed you and accept it as truth; a lie that will be passed down to your children to the next until the truth is no more.

5. Distract you from what’s Important

The most important tactic the media uses to manipulate us all is through distractions. Especially now that our attention spans are shortening as technology advances, it’s easier for them to keep us from questioning authority. There are a lot of awful happenings around the world that require our attention but most of us would rather update their Instagram with the latest picture of their lunch rather than spread the word. Most of us would rather browse through their Facebook newsfeed than give a crap about the corruption in the government. We aren’t even mad enough to do anything instead we take our anger to social media and we just let it fester there. The people who controls the media knows this and they’re going to keep coming up with distractions so we won’t ever oppose them. They think we are stupid and easily manipulated and we are proving them right.

Everyone loves a good fiction but you have to admit, any novel or film becomes more interesting when you realize that it’s based on a true story. Here are the best biopics that are definitely worth your time:

Amadeus

Although it has a lot of fictional add-ons, there is no doubt that this masterpiece from Milos Forman is one of the best biopics ever to hit the big screen. Receiving 53 nominations and winning 40 including an Academy Award for Best Picture, this film that depicts the life of the world’s greatest classical composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as told by his rival Antonio Salieri will leave you breathless. In my case, crying so hard at the end I can’t even breathe. It doesn’t matter if you’re a classical music enthusiast or not, you will definitely enjoy this 1984 movie because aside from its amazing set and unbelievable soundtrack, the story will stick with you for the rest of your life.

The Pianist

War movies often leave us depressed but this film is very different from the others. Why? Because aside from leaving you depressed, it will also make you feel so destroyed. Please don’t let those words discourage you from seeing this movie if you haven’t already. This movie is truly beautiful but knowing that the horrible events that took place in the film is real will break your heart. Based on the memoirs of the Polish-Jewish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman, The Pianist will make you a different person after watching it. It’s life changing despite how tragic it is.

The Aviator

Just in case the fact that this movie is a Scorsese-DiCaprio production isn’t enough for you, then I’ll give you more reasons to watch this film that depicts the true to life story of Howard Hughes. This movie, perfectly starred by the amazing Leonardo DiCaprio as Hughes is reason number one, enough said. Reason number two, the story is just so incredible, you’d think it’s somehow fictional. But the best part is it’s not and it will definitely teach you a thing or two about determination. And reason number three, everything in this movie is flawless. The set, costume design, the cast and especially the script is just top notch. If you die without ever seeing this movie, you’ll definitely regret it.

Into The Wild

This film is one of the most philosophical films I’ve ever seen in my entire life and it affected me so much that it changed a lot of my opinions in life. In fact, I’d like to think that this movie somehow made me a better person than I was before. Into the Wild is based on the travels of Christopher McCandles and his life in the Alaskan wilderness. It taught me a lot about dreams and possessions and how material things don’t mean as much as we think. But the most amazing thing I learned from this movie is that travelling will definitely make you a better storyteller.